How​ do we personalize?

There are as many ways to personalize learning as there are definitions to define it. ​

In Sun West, we have mapped out a plan that we believe will help our schools, our educators and our learners to embrace and capitalize on the skills and knowledge that we have in regards to personalized learning. Our plan involves four distinct sets of activities: ​

​ Readiness Assessments

With continuous evaluation and reflection on our strengths, opportunities and challenges, we can better understand and make decisions for ourselves as learners, educators and schools.

​ Culture Building

This means taking the steps to create the open and accommodating organizational spaces and relationships required to embrace and facilitate personalized learning.

For all you visual learners, we've created a visual tool to explain - in a way that might suit you better - how and whywe are confidently headed down the personalized path.

They will be demonstrate strong character and excel in their communication, creativity, critical thinking and collaboration skills. Their refined technology skills will enable them to efficiently navigate the internet and effectively utilize the digital tools that they interact with daily. And they will have a self-awareness, cultural sensitivity and digital citizenship skills that sets them apart from their peers. ​As for how, draw your eyes to the bottom of the graphic. We start with readiness assessments to evaluate where we stand today. How ready are we as individual learners, educators, and schools to start learning differently? Once we have some sense of our current state, we simultaneously work towards building culture, character and the skills and knowledge that will get us to our end goal.

As we explore new ways of learning and find out more about ourselves and how we learn best, that gradual and deliberate transfer of responsibility starts to occur. As students mature and become more familiar with personalized processes, they will assume increasing amounts of decision-making responsibility. Should those responsibilities not be taken seriously or for some other reason the student needs more direct influence from the teachers, the reverse happens. Again, these processes are fluid and require diligent observation and active participation from multiple parties.

Kaitlyn Leurer an early years teacher from Eston Compositie School shares what PeBL looks like for her students.

Laura Holt a high school teacher from Eston Composite School shares how personalized pathways are available for students in Science.